Money-counter&#39;s desk



A. R. NEILSON.

MONEY vcouNTER's DESK.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 6. 1920.

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MONEY couNTE's DESK. APPLICATION FILED APR. 6. 1920.

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aNrHoNY aurenas NEILsoN, or ELIZABETH, New amasar,

' 'ro NarIoNAL cIrY BANK, or vNaw Yoan, N. Y., e.

Specieetion of Letters Patent.

CORPORATION.

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Application filed April 6, 1920. Serial No. 871,768.

To ZZ lwhom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ANTHONY RUTGERs NEILsoN, 'a citizen of the United States, residin in Elizabeth in the county of Union and tate of New jersey,

vcounters cage in which the' desks are usually placed. It further relates to such a desk in which not only the money o n each desk is visible at all times, but also the work `of an employee can be seen by the chief of the money counting division, as well as'by the other workers, so that the money counters" act as a'check on each other(- It further relates to such a money counters desk in' which the contents of the desk,

as well as the work of the employee, can be seen at all times by a detective located at some point of observation, as for example a balcony or window overlooking the money counters cage. i l l My invention further relates tov a money counters desk having a removable hood and cover, which can, in an emergency be taken from the top of one desk or table and se? cured to another desk or table. i

My invention further relates to certain combinations and articles of manufacture and details of construction all of which will be more fully hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

In the vfigures in which I have shown one embodiment of my invention the saine reference numerals refer to similar several gures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of two of my money counters desks, one being shown open and the other vclosed and locked;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the open money counters desk shown in Fi'g. 1;`

Fig. 3-is a vertical section, on an enlarged scale, on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. ,4 is a horizontal section on the line have invented ce r tain new and useful Improvements 1nI counters whose work is parts inV the 4 4 of Fig. 2, looking down in the direction of the arrows; p

Fig. 5 is a detailv vertical section on an enlarged scale; e

Fig= 6 is a vertical section on anenlarged scale on line 6 6 of Fig..- 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 7 is a plan'view of a money counters cage showing a plurality of my money countmg'desks, some ar'ranged back to back, and some arranged around the cage.

In banks, and particularly large banks, the duty of counting large sums of money passing through 'the bank is a most necessary and exacting part of the daily routine. In a large bank the money received from each teller has to be checked by the money counters before it is placed in the safe for the ni ht and the account of that teller properly c ecked and passed as being correct. In such large banks money is being, from time to time'throughfthe day taken fromv and returned to the vault. l oney from out of town correspondents, includingiforeign correS/Pndents, of course also .has to be counted 'and checked.

.This duty of counting-the money is done by a corps of employees known as money practically continuous throughout the banking hours,"and also after such hours, as it is necessary to check Assiettes or ONE-nene up the money returned from each teller,

prior to placing it within the safe. Necessarily these money counters must -be persons oftscrupulous honesty and integrity.

rIhey usually --work u nder pressure and great strain due tothe great responsibility of their duties. They also have to watch for counterfeit money.

It is customary, from time to time, during the day for the chief 'of such a division of the bank `to-recei'ptv for hundreds of thousands of dollars, his receipt being subject to actually counting the money in his department. In a large bank it is impossible for the chief of such a division to do all of the counting of the money himself; in fact his timel is very largely taken up superintending and directing his sta of money counters. s

The usual practice 'in such large banks is for the chief of the division, after giving his own Vreceipt ,for a certain amount of money, to turn this entire amount over to one of his assistants, he charging the parlll@ i sponsible tothe chief of the division for this entire amount until he counts it and returns it as being correct, or lncorrect, when the discrepency is found and the amount made tov correspond with the actual sum of money Y. turned into the counting division.

This throws great responsibility upon not only the chief 'of the division but also upon his assistants.

Even with the utmost care in selecting the assistants for this important Work occasionally a dishonest one can not withstand the temptation to peculate, and even in some cases to take comparatively large sums.

In a corps where there are many money counters, one of whom is dishonest, suspicionA is necessarily shared by all the employees. If the peculations. continue the bank loses more or le mone and the morale of the counting division 1s seriously undermined as they are at all times under great strain from `the very nature of their most exacting labors.

In a large bank it is not at all unusual for many of the money counters to have atv one time in their charge between five and six hundred thousand dollars ($500,000 to $600,000) in` currency and often more, for which they are ersonally responsible until it is all counted), checked and returned to the chief of the division, Who then, on his own list makes the proper notation relieving this employee of the res onsibility for this amount of money. I ounting vsuch amounts of money is not only arduous labor but takes time. If the lunch hour occurs in the midst of counting a certain batch of money, for which the employee has been charged, he runs a risk in leaving it on his desk, as he is personally responsible for this entire amount until it is returned to the chief of the division and he has been released from further responsibility.`

Banking floor space is so valuable and it being necessary to have the money counters near the tellers and the vault, so as to run the least risk of robbery, that in large banks the money counters are p'ut in out of the -way locations, where the light and ventilation is usually the poorest.

By my invention each money counter has his own money counting desk which is eng tirely under his own control. If he has to leave his work tem rarily for an cause, he can lock his d so that no ot er employee in the money counting division can tamper with it. Further the contents of vde his desk, open or closed, will always be visi- Fig. 7. The contents of particularly to the chief whom I .have designated as 15. Preferably ble to the chief of the division as well as to other-employees of that division. The chief of the division may also have a master key in case it becomes necessary for himv to reach the contents of the desk in the temporary absence of the employee.

In my limproved money counters desk not onl is all the money on the different desks visible at all times to the chief of the division and to other employees who themselves act as a check on each other, but there is no obstruction to the free ventilation of the money counters cage or compartment which is a most important item for the ventllationof these m-oney counters cages or compartments is never good, due to their (i into the least desirable space floor and usually away from within the dome is a. movable cover 7, also of strong open work, preferably wire. Any suitable means may balance the Weight of the cover. Preferably I attach the strap 8 to the cover at 9 the other end of the strap being connected to a coiled spring devicelO Aof any suitable constructionA which is put under tension when the cover 7 is pulled down to close the money counters desk, as shown on the right of Fig. 1. Two of these coiled spring devices 10 are preferably em loyed for each cover 7. It is to be noted in ig. 1, that the top 2 of the desk is providedl with two hoods and two covers, so that it is in yeffect two counting desks, each one being asf si ed to a different money counter.

ile at work counting the money 11, the cover 7 is pushed ,up by means of the handles 12, 12 and assumes the position shown at the left of Fig. 1. If the operator has to` leave his work temporarily for any purpose he pulls down the coverl l right of Fig. 1 and locks it bythe lock 13, so that the contents of that money counters desk can not -be tampered with by any other employee in the money counters cage 14, that desk, however, is at all times visible to the other employees whether Athe desk be opened or closed, an

of the division he, and he only, has a master key which can open any one of the money counters desks, should itbe necessary' to reach the contents be employed to counter- 7, as shown at thef;

iso

in the temporary absence of the money p counter.

For the reasons previously given the ventilation of the money counters cage 14, in which numerous employees work, is at the best very poor. Usually these employees have to work under artificial light. I have shown in my drawings an electric light 16 mounted in a refiector 17, there being one reflector 17 with several electric lights 16 for each desk.

By my invention the discomfort due to the heat of these electric lights and the crowded condition under which the employees in the money counters cage 14 have to labor, is reduced to the minimum, for the reason that by my invention my money countcrs desk does not interfere with the free ventilation of the money counters cage 14 and the free ventilation of each desk.

In practice the chief of the money counting divlsion may occupy any position in the money counting cage 14. As a matter of convenience he may, though not necessarily, assume the position designated 15 near the locked door 18 of the cage 14 so that he can have under'his general observation the work of the other employees 19 in the cage without leaving his own desk. From time to time, of course, he may walk around to more closely inspect the dierent workers in the cage but at all times he can see the contents of each money counters desk, whether the money counter is at work or whether his desk is closed and locked, as some of them are shown in Fig. 7.

Byl my invention the hood 3 with its dome 6 may be removed, if desired and placed on a -new top 2 by unscrewing the screws 2O holding the flange 21 to the top. Within each money counters desk I preferably,

though not necessarily, place a glass shelf 22. I provide the sides 5, 5 with a curved angle iron 23, the flange 24 acting as a guide for the U-shaped member 25 carried by the cover 7, there bein different U- shaped members 25 on eac side of the cover 7. l

Having thus described this invention in connection with an illustrative embodiment thereof, tov the details of which I do not desire to be limited, what is claimed as new and what is desired to secure by Letters vPatent is set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is 1. A new article of manufacture com` prising a money counters desk provided with a top, an open work hood mounted on the top, a movable open work cover, and means to lock the cover to the top of the desk so that the money will be visible from all points and open to inspection whether the desk is opened or closed but cannot be tampered with by other employees, the hood and cover permitting free ventilation of the desk.

2. A new article of manufacture comprising a money counters desk provided with a top, a removable open work hood mounted onthe top, a movable open work `cover carried by the removable hood, and

means to lock the cover to the top of the desk so that the money will be visible from all points and open to ins ection whether the desk is opened or close but cannot be tampered with by other employees, the hood nd cover permitting free ventilation of the esk.

ANTHONY RUTGERS NEILSON. Witnesses:

J. A. MrrcHEm.,

THOMAS S. STAPLES. 

